estoppel

Estoppel is defined as a legal principle that stops someone from asserting a truth that is defined as contradictory to an already established truth.

If the court has established in a criminal trial that someone is guilty of murder, the legal doctrine preventing the murderer from denying his guilt in a civil trial is an example of estoppel.

estoppel

noun

the barring of a person, in a legal proceeding, from making allegations or denials which are contrary to either a previous statement or act by that person or a previous adjudication

Origin of estoppel

Old French estoupail, stopper, bung ; from estoper: see estop

estoppel

noun

Law

A bar that prevents a person from presenting evidence contradicting a certain established fact.

Origin of estoppel

Obsolete French estouppail, from Old French estouper, to stop up, from Vulgar Latin *stuppāre; see stop.

estoppel

Noun

(plural estoppels)

(law) A legal principle in the law of equity that prevents a party from asserting otherwise valid legal rights against another party because conduct by the first party, or circumstances to which the first party has knowingly contributed, make it unjust for those rights to be asserted.

Origin

From Old French estoupail or estopail, a bung made of oakum (étoupe), from Latinstuppa ("flax, tow"), from Ancient Greek στύππη (stuppē).

estoppel - Legal Definition

n

A doctrine that holds, under
certain circumstances, that a claim or assertion cannot be made if it
contravenes a prior claim or assertion of the same party, or if it contradicts
the factual holding of a court whose decision is not directly binding on the
parties.

collateral estoppel

Estoppel created by the findings of another court upon the
same facts, even though the other proceeding did not involve all of the same
parties or was otherwise not directly binding on the current court.

equitable estoppel

At equity,
the doctrine that a party who has caused another harm in reliance on the
party’s promise or statement, may be barred from taking certain actions to
escape liability for such harm.

estoppel by silence

An estoppel created by the failure to speak of a party who
had an obligation to do so.

promissory estoppel

A doctrine that prevents a party from pleading lack of consideration as an affirmative
defense, if that party made a statement upon which the other party foreseeably
relied to his or her detriment.